Picture the map with Santiago in the far northwest corner of Spain. The Francés comes in from the east across northern Spain, over the Pyrenees at Roncesvalles and through Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos, León, and Ponferrada, into Galicia at O Cebreiro; it has the most beds, signs, and company, and its last 155 km (96 mi) in Galicia is the busiest stretch of any Camino. The Norte hugs the Bay of Biscay coast from Irún through San Sebastián, Bilbao, Santander, and Gijón, with more climbing, more rain, and fewer pilgrims; the Primitivo leaves it at Oviedo and cuts through the Asturian mountains to Lugo, the oldest and hardest of the five.
From the south, the Portugués runs up from Lisbon or Porto through Barcelos and Ponte de Lima to the border at Tui and on through Pontevedra and Padrón; the coastal variant leaves Porto along the Atlantic to A Guarda and Baiona and rejoins at Redondela, and in Galicia alone it measures 163 km (101 mi) against 119 km (74 mi) for the central way. The Inglés is the short northern route from the ports of Ferrol or A Coruña, where medieval pilgrims from England and Ireland landed; only the Ferrol start exceeds the 100 km needed for the Compostela.
Days assume 20 to 25 km (12 to 15 mi) a day; add one rest day a week. The Xunta de Galicia publishes stage distances and difficulty for the Galician sections of all these routes. The existing pages on which route fits one week and on how far you must walk for the Compostela help narrow the choice.